About The Event
Organized by Faculty of Public Health Sciences
James Lind Institute, Geneva, Switzerland
Date: 17th May, 2025
Venue: Virtual Platform – Zoom
Introduction
In recognition of “World No Tobacco Day 2025”, the goal of encouraging international efforts to reduce tobacco use and increasing awareness of the negative effects of tobacco use, particularly among young people is critical. To debate the continued effects of tobacco on human health, the environment, and society, this interview will bring together public health specialists, youth advocates, medical professionals, and those who have been impacted by tobacco-related ailments.
The theme of the 2025 campaign aligns with the global call to protect future generations from tobacco industry interference, highlighting strategies to counter deceptive marketing and increasing access to cessation support. Through a dynamic and accessible online format, this virtual interview will serve as a platform for education, engagement, and advocacy, reaching a wide audience including students, healthcare workers, policymakers, and the general public.
Topics covered in this interview
- Need for such days in today’s era
- Influence of the tobacco industry on young population
- Individually and as a community, steps to fight back against tobacco marketing
- Protecting youth from the influence of the tobacco industry
- Key challenges young people face in the presence of tobacco industry and their irresistible tactics
Objectives:
- To educate people on the negative impacts that tobacco use—including smoking and vaping—has on society, the environment, and human health
- To support the World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day 2025 theme, which focuses on promoting quitting and shielding young people from the tobacco industry’s deception
- To encourage people to commit to quitting smoking by sharing success stories and providing resources, particularly for young people and current tobacco users
- To reveal the marketing tactics employed by the vaping and tobacco businesses to appeal to vulnerable groups, particularly kids and teenagers
- To utilize social media, YouTube, Zoom, and other virtual channels to engage and reach a broad and varied audience
- To motivate viewers to take part in or support regional and national tobacco control programs and policies
Interviewer
Dr Anahita Ali, PhD (Public Health), MPH, BDS, Associate Program Director of Public Health, James Lind Institute, Geneva, Switzerland.
Interviewee
Dr Apurva Medhe, Lead Research Coordinator, Washington University, Missouri, United States
Youtube link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AskWb_D4OtA
After asking a few key questions by Dr Anahita Ali, the expert speaker Dr Apurv highlighted that Tobacco use poses significant challenges to public health globally, affecting both developed and developing nations. In developed countries, tobacco consumption leads to major health issues, such as heart disease, respiratory diseases, and various types of cancer, notably lung and oral cancers. This results in substantial financial burdens on healthcare systems, driven by direct medical costs and indirect costs related to lost productivity due to illness and premature death.
He also mentioned that contrastingly, the impact of tobacco use in developing nations is vastly more severe, largely due to inadequate healthcare infrastructure and resources. Over 80% of the world’s 1.3 billion tobacco users reside in low and middle-income countries, where their spending on tobacco often supplants essential needs such as food, education, and healthcare. This perpetuates a cycle of poverty and addiction, further exacerbated by the absence of robust tobacco control policies and low public health awareness regarding the risks associated with tobacco use.
For instance, India is the second largest consumer of tobacco globally, with around 267 million adults using it. This has led to a high incidence of tobacco-related diseases, contributing to about one-third of India’s cancer burden. Addressing this public health crisis necessitates comprehensive strategies that implement effective measures, such as imposing higher taxes on tobacco products, enforcing advertising bans, ensuring smoke-free environments, and supporting tobacco cessation programs. Raising public health awareness and strengthening healthcare systems in developing countries are also crucial components of this effort.
He concluded that a sustained, multi-pronged approach is essential to mitigate the effects of tobacco use, emphasizing the need for prioritization of tobacco control policies and public health initiatives aimed at reducing the global prevalence of tobacco and its associated health burdens. The observance of specific campaigns, as advocated by public health organizations, underscores the importance of ongoing efforts to combat the tobacco industry’s pervasive threat to public health, despite advancements in technology and information access.
